Contents

Background and College career

Thomas was born October 7, 1967 in Philadelphia and went to Frankford High School. A member of Penn State's 1986 National Championship team, Thomas was an 1989 All-American and a two-year starter for head coach Joe Paterno. He finished second on Penn State's all-time rushing list with 3,301 yards and 21 touchdowns. He was also the first player in school history to rush for more than 1,400 yards in two seasons. Thomas was the Most Valuable Player of the 1989 Holiday Bowl, setting a record with 35 carries for 186 yards. He was also the Most Valuable Player of the Senior Bowl, and finished runner up in the Heisman Trophy. All well and good, yes? Well...

Thomas' NFL career

Jets career

Thomas was the second overall pick of the 1990 NFL Draft. Ahead of Emmitt Smith. Thomas never amounted to anything, and suffered a series of nagging injuries. In 4 seasons with the Jets he managed a grand total of 2,009 yards and 5 touchdowns, and was releaed by the Jets at the end of the 1993 season.

Stats as a Jet

Year

Rush Att

Yds

Avg

TD

Lng

Rec

Yards

Avg

TD

Lng

1990

123

620

5.0

1

41

20

204

10.2

1

55

1991

189

728

3.9

3

25

30

195

6.5

1

18

1992

97

440

4.5

0

19

7

49

7.0

0

10

1993

59

221

3.7

1

24

7

25

3.6

0

7

Total

468

2009

4.3

5

41

64

473

7.4

2

55

Post Jets career

It's still not Emmitt Smith

Thomas had a couple of games for New England and Dallas in 1994, and then joined Carolina in 1995, before leaving the NFL.